BTS: Fairoz Ahmad CEO and Founder of Chapter W

A founder, a writer, a lecturer, and above all a humanitarian, Fairoz Ahmad is someone who doesn’t hesitate to do more to contribute to society. His work ethics have always been centered around making the world a better place even when he was still studying Sociology at the National University of Singapore. He was an alumnus of the ACE Capstone Leadership Program for Non-Profit of Singapore and an alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) for NGO Management by the US Department of State. Because of his effort and contribution, the National University of Singapore's Outstanding Young Alumni award was presented to him in 2017. “I just want to do something meaningful to society” He said matter-of-factly, when we asked him about it.

Appeared as a man of few words, Fairoz also works as a lecturer, regularly teaching the students of Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore on research methods, community development, and sociology. Besides lecturing, he also writes in his free time, and has published a book titled Interpreter of Winds in 2019. The book is described as “a brief collection—fewer than ninety pages—yet is vividly representative of how Islam has blossomed into its own rich form across the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia.” by Ethos Books Singapore.

However, most of all, Fairoz is a humanitarian who is especially compassionate to the people of Indonesia. In his early 20s, he was once a volunteer in Indonesia after the Aceh Tsunami in 2004. It was at that time that he believed to be one of the causes of his deep compassion towards the people of Indonesia. Through Chapter W, a social enterprise which focuses on empowering women through technology and create better job opportunities in Indonesia, he wants to accomplish his mission in making Indonesia a better place for everyone.

The first step in completing the mission was through Ibu Rumah Terang (Mothers Light Up) which has helped women become entrepreneurs selling solar lamps in rural areas of Indonesia. With more than 24.000 people that have accessed Ibu Rumah Terang, Fairoz decided that it was time to start a new challenge. In November 2019, Chapter W launched PatunganYuk! a platform where content creators and influencers can get a sustainable support throughout the month from their fans. It is apparent that PatunganYuk! appeals more to the younger generations. We tried to pry as to why, influencers and content creators who are supposedly get paid a lot from adsense and endorsement need this kind of platform.

Fairoz recalled that the philosophy behind PatunganYuk! itself was that everyone who has the talent, vision, and cause should be able to get sustainable support as regular support is very important. We also wanted to know what kind of influencers and content creators they have in mind, Fairoz quickly said that it needs to be someone who wants to contribute to the society.

This new challenge also originated from Fairoz’s and his team’s objective to focus more on tech for the next year to come. Among other things, content creators and influencers exist everywhere, so we asked him, why the name is very Indonesian, a slang at that. “The approach was designed for Indonesian’s market, so it had to be easily recognized by the people of Indonesia, ” He said, “But, in the future it could be both, in Indonesia and overseas.”

As a person, Fairoz is very inspiring. Hence, our-curious-selves could not help but asked what his go-to mantra, and he answered: “Everybody needs to grow into your tomorrow. What gets you here today doesn’t mean it will get you through tomorrow. So, keep improving yourself.” Well said!

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